Tragedy Into Love
by OrtonsMistress
Summary: The DiBiase family is rocked to its foundation when the Million Dollar Man's wife is killed in a car accident. Lily is the first born daughter. See what happens when life throws her more than she can handle. *Story DISCONTINUED*
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Anyone you recognize I do not own. I only own Lily, Sydney, Vincent and Laura. Everyone else owns themselves.**

**A/N: I know I shouldn't be posting a new story, when I haven't finished Never Gone, but I am working on that. Look for a new chapter of it in the coming days. **

Chapter 1

"How come you're picking me up?" I asked, seeing my oldest brother Mike and his wife Laura, inside the principals office.

"Sweetie, we need to get you and Sydney home." Laura said gently, as my younger sister walked into the office then.

"Did something happen to mom and dad?" I asked, as that was the only logical explanation I had, as to why Mike and Laura were here.

"Let's just go." Mike said, signing the paper to take us out, before pulling his sunglasses over his face.

When we finally got home, I knew something had happened, when I saw Teddy and Brett standing outside. Teddy is a wrestler for the WWE and should be at some arena, getting ready for tonight's Raw house show. Brett is working in WWE's training camp, FCW, and is living in Florida now.

"Okay, what's going on?" Sydney asked, as we got out of the car, and walked up to the door.

"Yeah, why are you guys home?" I asked, looking up at Brett and Teddy.

"Let's go inside." Teddy replied, wrapping his arm around me, while Brett opened the door, letting me and Sydney inside.

Going into the living room, I saw my dad standing up and talking quietly on the phone. "Daddy, what's wrong?" Sydney asked, hoping he would tell us something. Hearing her question, he hung up quickly, before turning around and walking over to us.

"Girls, let's sit down." He said, wrapping his arms around us, and guiding us over to the couch, before sitting across from us on the coffee table. "Lily, Sydney. There's been an accident. After your mom dropped you girls off at school this morning, she stopped by the bank before going to the store. Well when she pulled out of the bank lot, this other car came speeding toward her, they lost control and hit your mom head-on." Dad said, his voice cracking a bit.

"Is she going to be okay?" I asked softly, trying to process everything.

"Can we go to the hospital and see her?" Sydney asked, tears already flowing down her face.

Before dad could answer her question, realization dawned on me and I blurted out. "She's dead, isn't she?"

Glaring over at me, Sydney snapped. "This is all your fault! If you hadn't been so rude to her on the way to school, she'd still be alive!" She screamed, as she hit me in the jaw, completely catching me off guard.

"I wasn't rude you little brat. I just didn't feel like talking!" I yelled back, smacking her across the face, forcing dad and Brett to separate us.

"Girls, that's enough." Dad said sternly, looking back and forth between us. "Syd, it's not Lily's fault. Do you understand me?"

"Yes sir." She sniffled, laying her head on Brett's shoulder.

"I think I'm going to get sick." I mumbled, getting up and running upstairs to my bathroom. Locking myself in, I started violently throwing up. Sliding down against the wall, I allowed myself to cry.

By the time the sun set that night, just about everyone that knows my family had either called us, or stopped by. I had finally unlocked the bathroom door and went back downstairs, where Teddy, Kristen and Sydney were talking to someone, but I couldn't make out the persons voice. Rolling my eyes, I walked into the kitchen then, hoping to get something to drink. Seeing my dad sitting out on the back porch by himself, I grabbed two bottles of water and went outside.

"Hey daddy." I said softly, not wanting to startle him.

"Hey sweet pea." He replied, smiling at me weakly.

"I brought you a water. Wasn't sure if you had something out here or not." I said, as I went over to sit by him on the swing.

"Thank you." He replied, wrapping an arm around me.

"It seems so weird that she's gone. Like I can't seem to let myself believe it." I mumbled, laying my head on his shoulder, as he pushed us lightly.

"We'll make it through this darlin'." Dad said, kissing the top of my head. We sat out there talking for a few more minutes, when Teddy came outside to get dad.

"Um dad, there's a police detective here to talk to you." He said quietly, it was apparent he had just been crying.

"Thank you son." Dad replied, as he stood up to go inside.

After sitting outside for another hour, I decided to go up to bed. Luckily for me, nobody stopped to ask how I was feeling. Going up to my room, I saw Sydney blowing up the air mattress to sleep on my floor. "Who'd you lose your room to?" I asked, going over to my dresser to get my pajamas.

"Teddy and Kristen." She replied, glancing over at me. "I'm sorry for punching you earlier."

Nodding my head, I answered softly. "It's okay, everyone's emotions are on edge.

The next few days were emotional at best. We had to get ready for the funeral, and the visiting friends and family. Sydney and I went to the mall with Teddy and Kristen, to get new outfits for the funeral. We had just walked out of Forever 21, when Sydney spoke up. "Lils, isn't that Vincent over there with that girl?" She asked, pointing over at Auntie Anne's, where my boyfriend of two years was kissing and hanging over Allison McDougal, the junior class slut.

"Yeah, that's him." I replied, forcing back my tears. Handing my bags to Kristen, I made my way over there, and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hi Vincent." I said, smirking at him when he pulled his face away from Allison's.

"Lil...Lily, what are you doing here?" He stammered, in total shock of seeing me.

"I could ask you the same thing, but at this point, I really don't care. If you want to screw around with Allison, risk getting an STD, more power to ya." I started, I could feel Teddy watching me, incase things got out of hand. "I guess it would be asking for too much for my boyfriend to be by my side, as I go through the worst thing in my life, so let me be the first to thank you for wasting two years of my life on a loser like you." I finished, as I turned to walk away, he grabbed a hold of my arm, turning me around and causing Teddy to walk up to us then.

"I think you best be letting go of her." He said calmly, as Vincent let go of my arm, Teddy pulled me behind him. "Now stay away from my sister."

Walking back over to Sydney and Kristen, Sydney was cracking up. "That was great Lils. I loved how you put him in his place and the skanky hooch." She laughed, as I took my things back from Kristen.

"Glad I could entertain you." I replied, as we walked out of the mall."Li Li, are you alright?" Teddy asked, wrapping his arm around me.

"Yeah I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?" I asked, putting up walls around me.

"Well with mom dying, and then finding out Vincent cheated on you." He said, making me roll my eyes.

"I'm fine Teddy, just let it go. I don't even care that Vincent was screwing around with Allison, it means nothing to me. I'm so over him, I can move onto someone totally better than him." I said, getting into the car then. Finding my iPod in my purse, I put the earphones in and blocked everyone out.

The next day, I was in my room with Sydney getting ready to go to the viewing, when a knock came on the door. "Come in." I called out, as I was helping Sydney to curl her hair.

"You know, you shouldn't invite random guys into your room like that." I heard the familiar Georgian lisp behind me, making my head turn.

"Cody!" Sydney and I exclaimed. Seeing Teddy's tag team partner, and dad's best friends son, Cody Runnels.

"I can't believe you're here. How long are you here till?" I asked, going over and hugging him tightly.

"I've got the shows off for a couple more weeks. They're playing up that Randy really did give me a concussion at Mania." He replied, returning my hug, before going over to hug Sydney.

"I'm glad you are here." I said, leaning against him, as he wrapped his arm around me.

"You know I thought of your mom as another mother." He replied, smiling at us softly.

"Can you come back after the viewing tonight?" I asked, wanting to spend more time with him.

"Sure." He replied, kissing the top of my head. "I'll leave you guys alone, so you can finish getting ready."

When he left, Sydney looked up at me with a smirk. "Now I see why you weren't upset when you caught Vincent at the mall." She said, before adding. "You want to date him, don't ya?"

Rolling my eyes, I unplugged the curling iron and put it away. "Syd, we've known Cody all of our lives. He's like another big brother to us. I am just glad to have someone to talk to and hang out with, that won't force me to discuss my feelings." I replied, looking over at her.

"Alright, if you say so. However I still think you like him, in more than him being like a brother to us." She said, before heading downstairs.

Once we got to the funeral home, it finally hit me that my mom was gone. Of course, I wasn't going to cry or let anyone see me as weak. Running up to Mike and Laura, I ducked my head under his arm. "Do you know if mom's casket is open?" I asked, not sure I could see her like that.

"Yeah sweetie, it is." He replied, hugging me gently.

"Okay, well I won't be going up there then." I replied, as I walked in and found a place to stand, close to my family, but not too close to have to see my mom like that.

After going through the mundane process of people hugging me, and telling me that they were sorry for my mom's death and how wonderful she was, I was finally able to go home. Walking upstairs, I quickly changed into my pajamas, and pulled my hair up in a ponytail. Going downstairs, I went out to mine and Sydney's old tree house at the back of our property. Sitting inside, I fought back the tears that threatened to fall. I don't know how long I had been sitting there, so when Cody climbed up, he startled me.

"Hey Cody." I said softly, looking up at him.

"What are you doing out here by yourself?" He questioned, sitting down beside me.

"Just wanted to get away from everyone for awhile. I don't want them bugging me, asking me if I'm okay." I replied bluntly. "Of course I'm not okay, I lost my mom for God's sake. They all lost her too, I'm sure my feelings aren't that different than theirs."

Nodding his head lightly, he took off his hoodie jacket and wrapped it around me when he saw me shiver.

"I know sweetie, but your dad and brothers just want to make sure you and Sydney are fine. It makes them feel like they have control on something, since your mom is gone. They don't want to admit their own feelings. You DiBiase's are stubborn people." He joked, trying to make me laugh.

"It's a nice trait to have." I replied, smiling faintly. Staring into his eyes, I was searching for something to say, when my body reacted before my brain could kick in, as I leaned in and kissed him. When neither of us pulled away, I wrapped my arms around his neck loosely. Moaning softly, I felt him pull me onto his lap, making me straddle his waist. Running my fingers through his hair, is when he pulled away from me.

"Lil Belle, we can't do this." He panted, pushing me gently away from him."Why not?" I asked, looking at him incredulously.

"One, you just lost your mom. Two, you just broke up with your boyfriend. Three, I don't want to take advantage of you." He said, looking at me intently.

"Cody, you can't take advantage of someone who knows what they want. I've liked you since I was a little girl. Please, can't we just see where this ends up going?" I asked, grabbing his hand in mine. "You help me forget all the hurt I've gone through this week. When we were kissing just now, I felt all kinds of explosions in me, something I never felt with Vincent. Please Cody, won't you give us a chance?"

Instead of saying anything, Cody pulled me to him again, staring into my eyes intently, almost as if he was searching for something to show that I didn't mean my words. Tucking a piece of hair behind my ear, Cody ran his fingers down my cheek, making me close my eyes and bite back a moan. Bringing his hands down to his jacket, he pushed it down my shoulders, rubbing his hands up and down my bare arms gently.

"When did you grow up on me?" He whispered, a now husky tone in his voice.

"About the time you became a huge star." I replied, opening my eyes to look at him then.

"Are you sure this what you want Lil Belle?" He questioned, using his old nickname for me.

"Cody, I want to be with you." I replied. "I love the feeling of your hands on my skin, the way your lips taste on mine." Once I was finished, Cody leaned in and captured my lips with his once again, causing the same fireworks to explode inside me. "Mmmm." I moaned, pushing him back lightly, as he pulled me to lay on top of him. Getting lost in the kiss, I almost didn't hear Teddy yelling for me. "Cody, we need to stop." I mumbled pulling away from his lips, and pushing my shirt back down, as he had been rubbing my back. "Teddy would kill us if he caught us."

"Yeah, you're right." He agreed, as we both tried not to appear to disheveled.

"Li Li!" Teddy yelled, walking up to the tree house.

"Hey." I said softly, as he climbed up to where we were.

"You alright sweetie?" He asked, hugging me to his side. "You didn't eat any dinner."

Nodding faintly, I looked up at him. "I'm fine Bubba, I just don't have much of an appetite." I told him honestly, before adding. "There's something I need to tell you."

Looking at me worriedly he asked. "What's the matter?"

Taking a deep breath, I just blurted out. "Cody and I are dating now."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Anyone you recognize I do not own. I only own Lily, Sydney and Vincent.**

Chapter 2

"What did you just say?" Teddy asked, looking fit to be tied. "Runnels, what business do you have taking advantage of my seventeen year old sister?"

Getting in between them quickly, I pushed Teddy back a bit. "Teddy, stop this please. I care about Cody, please don't be mad at us." I begged, hoping he would see some form of reason.

"Do you really think that dad is going to let you date him?" Teddy asked, knowing that would not go over too well.

"Well if dad sees how much I like Cody and how happy he makes me, I don't see why he would care. Besides I will be eighteen in November, I can do whatever I want then. I can graduate in January, then move out if I want." I said stubbornly.

"Fine, if that's how you feel, just promise me you will be careful. I just don't want to see you get hurt." He said, before glaring at Cody. "So help me God, you hurt my little sister and I will kick your ass."

Throwing my arms around his neck, I hugged him tightly. "Thank you Bubba." I said, before releasing the hug and moving over to Cody's arms.

"I'll leave you guys alone, but don't be out too much longer, otherwise dad may come get you." Teddy said, before climbing down to the ground.

"Well I'm glad I was able to get him calmed down." I said, standing on my tip toes and kissing Cody softly. "Maybe I can convince my dad to let me travel with Bubba this summer, so I can see you more. Of course I'd have to room with Teddy, but that's okay."

Shaking his head at me, Cody leaned in and kissed me. "You really are something else Lily Marie DiBiase, but you're my something else." He chuckled, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"Cody." I said softly, as my eyes flooded with tears. "Do you think you can stay here for a couple weeks, after the funeral?"

Looking at me worriedly, he pulled me to him in a tight hug. "Sure sweetie, I'll be here." He promised, as I finally allowed myself to cry since the day of the accident.

* * *

The next morning, I did not want to wake up. So much so, it took Brett and Mike to get me out of bed. Going over to my bathroom, I started getting my stuff ready to get in the shower. Thinking back over last night, I couldn't help the small smile that crossed my face. I was one step closer to becoming Mrs. Cody Runnels. There was a small part of me that wondered if my mom played a role in Cody and I getting together. She was the only one who knew how much I love him. I could almost see her putting us together, so I could be happy. Getting in the shower, I let the water beat down on me as I washed my hair. Once I was finally done, I got out and fixed my hair, before getting dressed and putting my make up on. Grabbing my matching silver Tiffany and Co. necklace and bracelet that my mom got me and Sydney one year, I walked downstairs.

"Leah, can you help me get this necklace on?" I asked, walking over to her.

"Yeah sure." She replied, taking the necklace from me.

* * *

The funeral service was nice, Brett and Teddy delivered a eulogy that sort of spoke me Mike, Sydney and I as well. By the time they were done speaking, there wasn't a dry eye there. After everyone spoke, and mom's favorite songs were sung, we went to the cemetery for the burial. Looking around at the people there, my heart practically lurched up to my throat, when I saw Vincent there with his parents.

"What is he doing here?" I muttered to Sydney.

Looking over where I was still glaring behind my sunglasses, she replied quietly. "You guys were together for two years Lil. His parents are friends with dad, they may just be here to pay their respects.

Nodding lightly, I looked around hoping to find Cody. Seeing him standing off to the side with Dusty and Michelle, put my mind at ease a little bit. Listening vaguely to the minister, my mind was playing tricks on me, as I could have sworn my mom was standing next to the minister. Looking over at my dad and brothers, none of them seemed to notice her, but when I looked back she was smiling at me before fading away.

'Great, so now I'm hallucinating my dead mom is in front of me.' I thought to myself, as the service was over and people started dispersing. Getting up from my seat, I started to make my way over to where Cody was, when Vincent stepped in front of me.

"Lily, I really want to talk to you about what you saw the other day." He said, trying to pull me away.

"Vincent, you can't lie your way out of this one. I am so over you and your lies. You can't tell me that she just kissed you and groped you out of nowhere. I watched you for a few minutes, before I walked over to you." I said angrily, unknowingly attracting some onlookers. "You cheated on me Vincent, at a time when I needed you. Then I realized that I don't need you, your phony promises, or your lies about loving me and how I'm the only girl that's ever understood you. Stay the hell away from me, I never want to be around you again."

Going over to Cody, I wrapped my arms around his waist, and forced back my tears. "I wanna go home." I cried, feeling Cody rubbing my back gently.

"Come on doll baby." Dusty said, as he and Cody led me over to their rental.

"I'll call Teddy and let him know you're with us and we'll take you back to the house." Cody said, helping me get into the back seat.

"Thank you Cody." I replied, laying against him tiredly.

* * *

The next few weeks went by rather uneventfully. Cody stayed at the house with us, it helped having him there with me. I didn't feel like going back to school right away, so my dad got me excused and Sydney would bring my homework to me. The last week Cody was there, I finally told my dad that I was dating him. To my shock, he wasn't the least bit surprised. Seems as though my mom and dad would talk about it. He just said as long as I was happy and all, that's what he cared about.

The Monday after Cody left, I went back to school. I was hoping like hell that Vincent wouldn't bug me, but as soon as I got out of the car, he was right there, ready to pounce.

"Hey baby." He said, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.

"Vincent just go away. I don't have anything to say to you." I said, pushing his arm off me. "You moved on with Allison, so I moved on as well." Watching me worriedly, Sydney was standing at the end of the sidewalk, watching and waiting.

"You little whore!" Vincent yelled, as he backhanded me across my face. Grabbing hold of my arm, he squeezed it and held my jaw in his free hand. "You will always belong to me Lily Marie DiBiase, don't you ever forget that." He spat before kissing me roughly, as the tardy bell rang. Letting go of me finally, he walked away with an evil smirk on his face.

Rushing over to me, Sydney took my keys and led me back to the car. "Come on Lils, I'll drive us back home." She said, as she helped me in, before going around to the driver's side.

* * *

By the time we got home, dad was outside working on mom's flower bed. "Great, just great." Sydney muttered, knowing she'd probably get in trouble for driving us home, seeing as she was only fourteen.

Getting out of the car, I ran inside quickly, hoping to avoid any contact with my dad. I knew Sydney would tell him what happened, but I just wasn't ready to face him. Grabbing my cell phone out of my purse, I called Teddy. I could only hope that he was awake and not at the gym or in a meeting with anyone.

Just when I was about to hang up, Teddy answered. "Hello."

Crying softly, I knew my voice would give that fact away, so I didn't try to hide it. "Bubba." I sniffled softly, my lip starting to swell from where Vincent hit me."Li Li. What's wrong?" He asked, hearing the unshed tears in my voice.

"Vincent, he…" I started, as dad came charging into my room then, making me scream and hang up on Teddy.

"Lily, are you okay?" Dad asked, coming over and hugging me gently.

"My arm and mouth hurt." I mumbled, laying against him a bit.

"Well I will call Vincent's parents and get this straightened out. I will not stand for him to be putting his hands on you." Dad said, as my phone started ringing then.

"It's Bubba. I hung up on him when you came in and scared me." I said, knowing dad wondered who was calling me. As I leaned back against my pillows, I answered. "Hello."

"What did Vincent do to you?" Teddy asked, I could hear Randy Orton and John Cena trying to calm him down.

"He was waiting for me when I got out of the car at school this morning. He said that I would always belong to him, he grabbed my arm and smacked me across the face." I said, as I started crying again, thinking about it.

"Li Li, let me talk to dad." Teddy said gently, not wanting to upset me more.

"Hang on, he's yelling at the principal about trying to see the tape from the surveillance camera in the parking lot." I told him softly. "Bubba, can I come stay with you till summers over? I'm scared to be here and I can't go to Mike's cause he knows where Mike and Laura live."

Hearing Teddy sigh, I knew he was worried about me, especially since I admitted I was afraid. "Let me talk to dad Li Li, see what he thinks about it. I don't want to do anything without discussing it with him first." He said, not wanting to upset him any.

"Alright, here he is." I said, handing dad the phone.

"Teddy, she's okay." Dad said, wrapping his arm around me loosely.

"Is the school going to do anything?" He asked, pacing around his room.

"I'm going over there in a little bit. The principal is going to call Vincent's parents as well as the cops." Dad replied, as I started freaking out again.

"Dad, the school year is almost over, he will graduate and go off to the Army. Let Lily come and stay with me until school starts back in the Fall." Teddy suggested carefully.

"Let me see what happens today and I'll think about it." Dad said, knowing probably the most that could happen, would be to get a restraining order against Vincent, and I wouldn't feel safe until he was gone.

"Okay dad, I have to get to a meeting now. Call me after you get done at the school. I want to know what happens. Tell Li Li I love her, and I will call her after I'm done tonight." Teddy said, grabbing his things to leave.

"I will son, be careful tonight." Dad said, before saying his good-byes and hanging up.

"Do I have to go with you to the school?" I asked, completely terrified of seeing Vincent again.

"Yes sweetie, Mr. Brooks wants to talk to you and Sydney about what happened. I'll be with you both the whole time." He said, hugging me gently.

* * *

When we got to the school, Sydney and I talked to Mr. Brooks first, then Vincent and his parents came in. They couldn't dispute much, since the surveillance tape showed everything Sydney and I had said. He was in trouble with the school, as well as having the restraining order put on him. He was suspended for three days, and Mr. brooks said I could finish out the rest of this year online, since my grades were great. By the time we got home, I was exhausted. Going up to my room, I laid down and slept the rest of the night.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The last few days have been agonizing at best. Dad had decided to let me moved to Florida until August, after seeing Vincent didn't look to apologetic during the meeting. Once summer comes, dad and Sydney will be coming out to Florida for a visit, plus dad is going back on the road, since we'll be out of school.

I had been avoiding talking to Cody since Monday, I wasn't really sure what to say to him. I knew Teddy had told him what Vincent had done, but I think I'm safe in assuming that I was a little afraid of Cody and his reaction to me and what happened. I talked to Kristen today, she told me that Cody was flying back with Teddy next week so he could see me. Going over to Sydney's room, I flopped on the bed.

"Syd, would you do me a huge favor?" I asked, looking at her hopefully.

"What is it?" She asked, glancing over at me.

"I need you to call Cody and pretend to be me, and tell him that I think we need to stop our relationship now, cause I wasn't going into it with a clear head." I replied, as she looked at me like I was crazy.

"Have you lost your mind?" She asked, gaping at me.

"Please Syd, I can't do it myself cause he won't let it go." I replied honestly.

"Lils, I can't end your relationship with him. You know you want to be with him, you know you love him. Heck when we were little and used to play wedding, Cody was always your groom." She said bluntly, as I started crying.

"I know that Syd, but I'm scared to death to be with him now." I said tearfully. "Well if you won't do it, I'll just send him a text message and tell him that dad doesn't want me with Cody, since I'm still only seventeen.

Looking at me like I was truly insane, she shook her head. "Do what you want, but I think you are making a huge mistake." She said, turning back to her computer, as she was putting new pictures on her Facebook.

Taking my phone out of my pocket, I sent Cody the same thing I said to Sydney. Closing out of my text messages, I went into my photos and stared at the picture that was taken of me and Cody the day he left. Knowing in my mind I was doing the right thing, I ignored the phone call I got a few seconds later from Cody.

"I'm going to go fix dinner, what do you want?" I asked, getting up from the bed.

"I don't care, whatever you feel like fixing." She replied, going back to the chat conversation she was having.

"Alright." I replied, heading downstairs then.

Grabbing her phone, Sydney quickly called Teddy and got his voicemail. "Bubba, it's Syd. Listen Lils did something stupid and lied to Cody. She's afraid to be with him now, it has nothing to do with dad like she told him. Call me when you get this. If I don't answer, I'm with Lily." She said, before adding. "Love ya, be careful tonight."

* * *

Friday morning, dad drove me to the airport after we dropped Sydney off at school. I had ignored any texts and phone calls from Cody, and every one from Teddy after he called me, and wanted to know if I was crazy for breaking up with Cody. Dad didn't say much to me about it, so when we were standing at my gate and he finally said something, it shocked me.

"Lily, you shouldn't let what Vincent did to you, ruin the love you have for Cody. He would never dare hurt you. I see the way he looks at you, and while I'm not anxious to see you grow up, I see the same look your mom and I had for each other." He said honestly, making me tear up a bit.

"I'm just scared daddy." I said, letting the tears fall.

"I know baby, but you can't spend the rest of your life living in fear." He said hugging me tightly, as my flight was called.

"I'll try and get past this." I said, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand.

"I know you can baby. "He told me, kissing the top of my head. "You better get to your seat. Call me when you get to your brothers."

Nodding my head lightly, I picked up my carry-on and gave my dad one last hug and kiss, before heading to my gate.

By the time the plane landed, I was a ball of nerves again. I wasn't sure if Cody would be coming home with Teddy still, or if either of them would talk to me ever again. Once I got off the plane, I found Brett, Leah and Kristen all waiting for me.

"Hey guys." I said, walking over to Brett, as he hugged me tight.

"Hey Lil' Bit." He whispered, hugging me tight.

"Lils, Teddy wanted me to let you know that he loves you, and he'll try and call you tonight before the show." Kristen said, smiling at me gently.

"Okay, I need to apologize to him anyway. I wasn't exactly nice to him the last time we talked." I said, feeling bad for how I treated him and Cody this last week.

"Sweetie, they both understand." Brett said, wrapping his arm around me, and leading me to the baggage claim.

"When dad and Sydney come out this summer, dad wants me and Syd to learn how to defend ourselves." I said grabbing a couple of my bags, while Brett grabbed the rest.

"That's a good idea." He said, seeing the faint remnants of the busted lip I had.

"Come on, we're going to go get some lunch." Leah said, as we walked out of the airport then.

* * *

After we ate, Brett and Leah dropped me and Kristen off, and left after they helped me lug all my bags in.

"Kristen, do you think Cody will forgive me?" I asked, as she was helping me unpack my things.

"I'm sure he will Lils. You went through something traumatic and you let that fear cloud your thinking. He understands that I'm sure." She said gently, as my phone started ringing then.

"It's Bubba." I said, looking down and seeing his name flashing on the screen.

"I'll leave you alone so you can talk to him." Kristen said, as she walked out of the room.

"Hello." I said, answering the phone before it went to voicemail.

"Hey Li Li." Teddy said gently. "Did you get to the house okay?"

Kicking my shoes off, I laid down on the bed. "Yeah, Brett and Leah dropped us off a little bit ago." I said, before adding softly. "I'm sorry for being such a bitch to you this week. I was just freaked out about everything and I took it out on you and Cody and I shouldn't have."

"I know Li Li, I shouldn't have forced you to talk to Cody. It wasn't the best idea I've ever had." Teddy said, chuckling lightly.

"Yeah." I replied, before asking. "Is Cody with you right now?"

"No, he's at a signing right now. I'll catch up with him at the arena later." He replied. "Do you want me to have him call you tonight?"

"No, that's okay. Is he still coming here with you on Tuesday?" I asked, knowing I really had to talk to him in person.

"Yeah, he wasn't going home anyway." He chuckled. "He was going to make you see reason."

"Great, I'm dating someone as stubborn as me." I said, shaking my head. "Listen, I'm going to get off here now. I still have some unpacking to do, and I need to call dad and let him know I got here okay."

"Alright sweetie, tell Kristen I'll call her later on." Teddy said gently.

"Okay I will. Be careful tonight, I love you." Once we said goodbye and hung up, I went back to unpacking and making the room a little more me.

Grabbing a picture that was taken of me, Sydney and mom at Christmas, I couldn't stop the tears from falling. Setting it on the nightstand by my bed, I laid down and cried myself to sleep.

* * *

The rest of the weekend pretty much went the same as Friday had. Kristen had left me alone as far as talking about Vincent or my craziness afterward. I was downstairs in Teddy's office working on some of my homework, to email my teaches, when I heard Teddy and Cody in the living room. Looking up at the clock, I realized it was almost 4:30 in the morning.

"Guess Raw was closer to here than I thought." I mumbled, as I got up and went into the living room. "Hey Bubba."

Turning around quickly, Teddy came over and scooped me up. "Hey Li Li. Are you really sure you're okay?" He asked, pulling away to look me in the eye.

"Yeah, I'm as okay as I'm going to be." I replied, before glancing at Cody. "Hey Cody."

Instead of saying anything, Cody grabbed me from Teddy and hugged me tightly. "Don't ever do that again." He whispered, tangling his fingers in my hair.

"I didn't want to hurt you. I just didn't know how to deal with everything." I mumbled, wrapping myself tightly in his arms. "I'm sorry if I hurt you."

Hearing Teddy go upstairs, Cody picked me up and carried me into the living room. "Lily, you do know that I would never hurt you, right?" He asked, sitting in the big over stuffed recliner, that was a personal favorite of mine.

"I know that. That wasn't even why I tried to break up with you. I was, heck I still am scared of what Vincent would do to you or me, if he figures out where I am." I replied tearfully.

"Lils, he's not going to hurt you anymore. I won't let him and your brother's damn sure won't let him." He whispered, kissing the top of my head gently. "If it comes down to it, you can go on the road with us this summer, and I'll stay with you when you go back to school in the fall."

Looking up into his eyes, I couldn't help but ask. "You'd really do that for me?"

Pulling my face down to his, he looked me straight in the eye. "Baby, don't you know by now I would do anything for you?" He asked, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear.

"I guess I never realized just how much you really cared about me." I replied honestly.

"I do care Lily." He said, before dropping another shocker on me. "I love you."


End file.
